Wax Tarts: Reference Page


I thought it might be helpful to some to have a reference page for all things waxy. My thoughts on these topics are generated from my own personal experiences, friends' experiences and/or common held generalities. Points made here are in NO WAY the Gospel/end-all be-all/absolute truth.  If you have anything to add or points to ponder please comment and I will be glad to include those thoughts and ideas as well.

First thing first! When melting wax tarts, don't expect the wax to evaporate. The wax only gets melted, not burnt away like in a candle. The scent from the fragrance oils will fade but the wax will still be there. If it no longer smells, dump the wax (either while hot into the garbage, soaked into a paper towel or cotton balls) or freeze the plate and pop it out and toss. Fire-starters are easy to make by pouring the old hot wax into a disposable cup with a twisted paper towel as a wick. 

Types:

Wax tart composition usually includes a blending of soy and paraffin wax, sometimes wholly one or the other and sometimes palm wax, beeswax or other waxes are used as the base. The general consensus is that paraffin wax tends to be firmer with a longer shelf life. Soy tends to be softer with a shorter shelf life. Of course there are exceptions. 

Wax tarts can come in all kinds of forms or types: chunky loaves, pies and cubes, grubby tarts, scent shots, shapes (hearts, scallops, bundt cakes, fruits, fingers, teeth and even body parts that live in under drawers), brittle, scoopables, clamshells, and pellets to name a few. These can be in one single scent or a blend of multiple fragrance oils. 

Warmers:

I see a lot of folks ask what type of warmers work best with various waxes. In general, softer waxes work well with bulb warmers and harder waxes work best with hotplates. For the most part I melt whatever vendor in either bulb warmers or hotplates and I usually do not have a problem, with a few exceptions. Scentsy really does work best in their warmers but I can still get a nice throw out of a lower wattage hotplate. Also I usually enjoy hard wax like CFTKR in my hotplates rather than my lower watt Scentsy warmers. I do have an Edison bulb warmer from ScentSationals that gets blazing hot and can melt anything I throw at it. Warmers can be purchased at craft stores (Hobby Lobby, Michael's), general stores (Walmart, Target), Yankee candle, and online. I found my favorite green warmer at a gift shop and then saw it at Bass Pro Shop recently. Warmers are pretty much everywhere now. Tealight warmers work amazing with wax tarts as well. They do require the additional cost of tealight candles but the benefit of free placement overcomes that minor inconvenience. 

Cure:

Lots of folks hear about "cure time." Some waxy fans feel that softer wax like soy needs a longer cure time to help the fragrance oils develop and intensify throwability (like that word?) and that harder wax like paraffin does not really need to cure. I have friends who don't feel like cure time is needed at all. I don't consciously cure. I buy, store, melt. Sometimes I melt wax the day I get it. Other times I let it sit for a year. I thought I realized that VCS melts stronger with longer cure time, then I melted Blanche & Baby Jane the day I got it and it threw like a champ. So there goes that. I am NOT saying that wax does not need to be cured. I am NOT saying it has to be. Try it out! Experiment! See if it makes a difference. 

Storage:

Another concern is proper wax packaging and storage. Some feel that the wrong bag types (like Ziplock bags) can leech the scent out. Polypropylene is the accepted plastic material for wax storage. Again, not everyone agrees, but I don't spend my money on wax to gamble with the scent evaporating. Here is my post on it.  

How Much to Melt:

The rule of thumb is usually one to two ounces of wax per warmer. Some think that melting less is actually more (more surface area for the fragrance oils to burn off) but the again, less wax is less fragrance oil in general for throw. Having melted huge chunks and less than an ounce many times, I tend to go back to 1-2 ounces at a time. 

Wax in Social Media:

There are many great wax tart centric Instagram accounts and Facebook Groups and YouTubers and bloggers. If you want to see what vendors and scents are out there it can be a great way to plug in. I have met many amazing folks through these avenues and hope to grow those friendships. Facebook is a must for even being able to place an order with some vendors. Most vendors have a business page and a group page where sale information and flash sales occur. 

How to Order:

Most vendors either sell custom wax, RTS (Ready To Ship) wax or a mixture of both. Custom = having the freedom to pick your own scents, shapes and amounts and the vendor will pour it as you order. RTS = you can choose from the scent the vendor makes available in the form and amount available. It is pre-poured and ready to move but when it is sold out, it is gone. TAT refers to Turn Around Time, how long it takes for your order to ship. This can range from 3 days to several months. The longest I waited was almost 7 months. If that kind of wait bothers you, make sure to inquire about the TAT before purchasing. Most vendors have their own website to order from but a few operate solely out of Facebook.

Vendors:

** I am only including vendors I have personally purchased from or have tried wax from that I would in good faith recommend, there are vendors I have tried that I will not be repurchasing from that I will not include, some I have reviewed, some I have not. These do not include store brand wax tart companies. There are many, many vendors I still have not tried, with more new ones popping up everyday. **

Beezy open/close model (RTS and pre-orders)


Bodygoodies occasionally stocks wax (does currently)

Bohemienne Life open/RTS

Book Scents usually open

Bubble & Geek usually open

Candles From The Keeping Room open/ close model RTS

Candy Panda open/close RTS


Country Lane Keepsakes usually open RTS (on a short break)

Dessa's Homespun Scents usually open RTS and customs


Fox Fire Wax and Bath open RTS and customs

Frostbeard Candle Co. usually open RTS

FussAss McGee usually open except for summer time

FuturePrimitive usually open/RTS

Geek Fire Labs usually open/RTS

Glitterati Facebook only ordering (customs and mystery box lists with flash sales from time to time)



K's Kreations usually open


Lasting Scent Candles open/close made to order and RTS (probably closed for good soon)

Love Potion Perfumes usually open 

Missouri River Soap open/ close model

Moegenborg Sugar Bush usually open



Rainbow Melts open/ close model

Rustik County Krafts (Rustik Sand Candles) open RTS

Rosegirls open, pre-orders and RTS


Scentsy open

Sniff My Tarts open/ close model, RTS and custom ordering

Southbound Candle Co. open/close model


Sugar & Spice usually open, made to order (currently closed 2019)

Super Tarts open, pre-orders and customs and RTS


Ten Digit Creations open/close for RTS

The Bathing Garden open- collections rotate out every few months, made to order

The Dreaming Tree usually open


Up The Creek Scents usually open, RTS and customs

Valhalla Soap usually open

Vintage Chic Scents open/ close model, RTS

Willow Wax Craft open/RTS

Wilma's (That Smell Good Shop) usually open

Zeep Bath usually open, RTS















14 comments:

  1. I read a lot about Glitterati wax but have been unable to order any due to their ordering process, no one wants to give even a piece of wax up. Is their wax that different from other vendors? Also, you recently had a basket full of Lasting Scent Candles, do you recommend this wax? Thanks :D I love all your reviews.

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    1. Hi Anon! Glitterati does make some really nice wax. Honestly, all wax from every vendor I have tried is different. Even the same scents smell a little different based on wax type and fragrance oil supplier. She is one if the harder ones to get since she really wants to stay small in order to have more time with her boys. If you keep an eye on her page she will do mystery box sign ups and flash sales periodically. :-)

      I am SAD over LSC closing. She will still be doing random opens announced in FB, and in fact did a week ago. I was able to order again. I think she plans in doing this a few more times. I do recommend trying her out if you turn on you LSC FB notifications :-) Thank you so much for your kind words! I hope you drop by and chat more!

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  2. This is such a useful page! Thank you so much! I have learned most of what I know about wax in the 10 or so months that I've been melting from you and Sunnee. You are both very generous with your knowledge, and this page is another example of that. Thank you! :)

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    1. Thank you Nancy! It can be overwhelming first getting into wax. My hope is that this can be of some help to anyone who stumbles upon it. If you think of anything I should add or cover please let me know! :-)

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  3. As a wax newbie I sometimes forget that I have a warmer going and fall asleep with it plugged in. This has been okay so far but recently I did this with a tart that likely contained fragrance oil and now my bedroom is permanently scented! Has this ever happened to you? I supposed it will go away eventually, I'm not sure what the scent has found a home in. Like you I have a lot of things that have accumulated out in the open in my bedroom!

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    1. I have forgotten a time or two as well. Mainly the one by my bed, as I leave it in right up until sleep. I have had scents linger for a couple days but never permanently. I have noticed you have a keener nose than most though, so maybe you are more attuned to nuanced scents. I had noticed when I melted a certain rich scent (my zucchini bread phase) that it permeated my clothes. Once I stopped melting that scent and all my clothes cycled through the wash it was over. It was brutal. No more zucchini bread for me.

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    2. Ahh this reminds me all too well of my experience with SGA, Sassy @ the Pupmkin Patch.. *cringes a little* Thought I would never get that super sweet fall scent out of my hair and home!! Not that it was a bad scent as it melted but as you smell it for so long.. it just kind of ruins it for you. I believe this scent also had zucchini bread in it along with many..many other scents.

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    3. I will make sure to avoid that scent then!! That phase of my melting... everywhere I went folks told me I smelled like a bakery lol!! It was a little embarrassing. Like... "no I don't spend all my time eating donuts."

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  4. Did you ever try Candles by Victoria's wax? Her catalog is large, I am just now melting a couple tarts I got from Deb a few years back. I hope I am not bringing up a vendor that was involved in a controversy and that's why she isn't here, I apologize if so!!

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    1. I have! In fact, Deb sent me some. They were ok, but not exceptional enough for me to want to buy any due to shipping costs. I have made a cart a few times but the shipping always had me closing the window. There are tarts out there I like way more for less in shipping. No controversy :-) Just me being weirdly cheap when I am not normally. LOL!

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  5. i think the ten digit creations link is wrong. just a heads up

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    1. Thank you! I will fix it! I think Amber has changed her site a few times. I used to order when she was on Etsy. :-)

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  6. How do you shipwax Tarts without them melting?

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    1. Hello! Although I do not personally ship wax tarts for sale, I do ship them as gifts quite often and very very rarely do they melt. About the only times I have had issues are in the dead heat of summer and it was a softer wax formula and it was usually over the weekend where they sat in the mail truck for too long. If you are shipping in a warmer climate and it is a softer wax (like container wax- not pillar wax) then it might be best to wait until you can ship mid-week and the person will be there to pick it up as soon as it arrives or wait until cooler weather. I hope this helps!

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